Most Middle Eastern elites at the World Economic Forum are highly skeptical of bitcoin, but there are whispers about its potential for cross-border settlements in the energy sector. According to Egyptian businessman M. Shafik Gabr, chairman of the ARTOC Group for Investment & Development, some Middle Eastern nations are already exploring the possibility of settling oil contracts in bitcoin. But he declined to specify which, and most of the leaders gathered in Davos for the annual conference that wrapped up Friday are adamant they see bitcoin’s post-sovereign nature as anathema. Fellow Egyptian investor Ahmed ... (full story)